? The Basiandong Historical Site in Taitung County is seen in this photo taken on March 27.這張照片是三月二十七日攝於台東縣長濱鄉的八仙洞遺址。

Photo: Huang Ming-tang, Liberty Times照片：自由時報記者黃明堂

The Basiandong Historical Site in Taitung County’s Changbin Township is Taiwan’s earliest known site. Carbon dating places the historical site at 27,000 years old and a total of 30 caves have been discovered there thus far. The story of Taiwan’s earliest prehistoric site is currently on display at the National Museum of Prehistory in Taitung.

The Taitung County Government commissioned Academia Sinica’s Institute of History and Philology to lead the research project studying the Basiandong site. Tsang Cheng-hwa, a researcher from the institute, has led the archeological team since September of 2008 in conducting a survey of the site. Many of the team’s most important findings are included in the special exhibit, “Taiwan’s Earliest Hunters — Archeological Finds from Basiandong,” which is on display at the museum until the end of June.

Basiandong has always been Taiwan’s most representative Paleolithic site. Archeologists had previously carbon dated samples from the site at between 15,000 and 5,000 years old, even estimating some samples to be 30,000 years old, but they had always lacked compelling evidence to back up the claims, which the most recent scientific study has finally given them.